Sample policy paper Mr. Seymour PDF

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Running head: SAMPLE POLICY PAPER 1 A Sample Policy Paper for Mr. Seymour Your Name El Paso Community College Your Course (Government 2305 or Government 2306) Professor John M. Seymour Month Day, Year SAMPLE POLICY PAPER 2 Abstract Type your abstract (summary) here. Note that the abstract paragraph ...

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Running head: SAMPLE POLICY PAPER

A Sample Policy Paper for Mr. Seymour Your Name El Paso Community College Your Course (Government 2305 or Government 2306) Professor John M. Seymour Month Day, Year

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SAMPLE POLICY PAPER

2 Abstract

Type your abstract (summary) here. Note that the abstract paragraph is not indented. The abstract is not the same as your introduction paragraph. Do not use “I” or “we” in your abstract. The abstract’s length should be proportional to the length of the work it is summarizing, between 50 to 250 words. This abstract should discuss important parts of the paper, including the problem, a brief discussion of its background, a summary of relevant scholarly literature, research methods, research findings, solutions and implications/unintended consequences. Be brief and direct as you want this section to preview your paper in one page or less. The total length should be three to five paragraphs and less than 250 words if possible. Construct this section to gain the reader’s attention and give them an overview of what’s in the paper (American Psychological Association, 2010)

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3 A Sample Policy Paper for Mr. Seymour

The introduction is best understood as a reflection of the essay in which you must, at the very least: state the topic to be discussed; pose a research question; and state your proposed answer to the research question in the form of a thesis statement (Taylor, 2009). Note that this should be in the form of approximately two to three paragraphs which follow the paper’s title. The title of the paper should be centered without bold face. Each of the paragraphs in your introduction should be double spaced with the first line of each paragraph indented by one-half inch. When typing, be sure to type to the end of the line and continue typing without hitting the Enter key on your keyboard. If you hit the Enter key on your keyboard, your paper will not have correct double spacing because you will not be using word wrapping. It is important that your intro paragraphs be 3-5 sentences long and that the last sentence of the introduction clearly states your paper’s thesis (topic) sentence. Problem Explanation and Background After presenting your thesis, be sure to include at least one paragraph which discusses relevant background information on your topic. This should prepare the reader for understanding the policy topic you will be analyzing. This section should be one in which you and the reader are connected through a clear definition of what the problem is (based on your problem definition, research question and thesis statements introduced in the introduction). By clearly describing the problem and the background information that the reader might need in order to understand it, you are preparing yourself and the reader for the leap into the literature review and research/analysis sections which are to come (Simon & Green, 2012).

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Note that for Government 2305 (American Government) students, your problem and analysis should focus on topics related to American government at a national level or may deal with intergovernmental relations (federalism) at national AND state levels. In contrast, Government 2306 (Texas State and Local Government) students should focus their problem and analysis as close to the Texas state level as possible. This would include relationships between the national government and the state of Texas as well as on intergovernmental relations between local or county governments and the state of Texas. If you select a broad topic, try to focus it on Texas policy as much as possible. The Importance of Transitions Lastly, include a paragraph which uses transitional statements or phrases to tie together the paper’s thesis sentence and background information in such a way that the reader has been prepared for more detailed analysis of research and literature. Transitional phrases may be used to add information, to compare or show similarity, to contrast or show differences, to illustrate or give an example, to show cause and effect, to emphasize, to restate, to show sequence and, lastly, to summarize or conclude (Ashford University, 2017; Purdue University, 2019) Literature Review/Problem Analysis Begin your literature reviews in this section. Each area of your research should have a paragraph dedicated to it with a review of relevant research. Group your background references into clusters with each paragraph discussing one specific part of the problem. Your literature review should address previous research in the field you are studying (Adams, Raeside, & Khan, 2014). Indicate essential research foundations necessary for understanding your topic. It should also present the contributions of those who have conducted research in your field of interest before you. Remember, Isaac Newton once said “If I have seen further than others, it is by

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standing on the shoulders of giants.” This is the basic reason for including a literature review. To acknowledge and display the research of those who have come before you. The literature review should answer some basic questions such as how and when has this problem been researched in the past? What do we know or understand based on past research? Who are the knowledge experts in the field and what do they have to say about the topic? What research is lacking that we need to address? What are the common research methods in the topic area? Are they qualitative or quantitative in nature? What are the main problems or limitations in researching this topic? Are there major areas of controversy or disagreement within the topic area? You can address any or all of these when evaluating literature on your topic of interest (Adams et al., 2014; Badke, 2017). Your literature review should include paragraphs of related, or clustered research findings. Clustering your research means that each paragraph in your literature review should pertain to one specific part of the problem. For instance, you might have a paragraph that relates to the specific problem or incident involved, and additional paragraphs on each specific part of your problem. Be sure to include a paragraph which specifically applies the scholarly literature you found with the problem at hand. Show why it is important to understand current research on your topic and how it has implications on your policy area going forward. A Note About Body Paragraphs When writing body paragraphs in any section of the paper, you should use a strategic approach to ensure that you are correctly constructing and linking the paragraphs together. One method is to follow the SESC formula: State, Explain, Support, Conclude. The first sentence

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states the paragraph’s topic. The second sentence explains the paragraph’s topic with more detail. The third, fourth, and fifth sentences should provide support for the paragraph’s topic. If you are using sources, a good place to put them is in the support section. The last sentence of the paragraph concludes and refers to the paragraph’s main topic. Another suggestion, from Purdue University, is the TTEB method which is based on the four elements of a good paragraph. TTEB is an acronym for: Transition – have a transition sentence that leads in from the previous paragraph to assure smooth reading; Topic – make sure each paragraph includes a topic sentence which tells the reader what will be discussed in the paragraph; Evidence – support your writing with evidence and analysis that supports one of your claims and provides a deeper level of detail than your topic sentence; and a Brief wrap-up sentence that tells the reader how and why this information supports the paper’s thesis (Oxford Editing, 2018). Research Methods This section should contain information on the type of research that was conducted and how that research will contribute to the understanding and solution of the problem. Be specific in what type of research you conducted (qualitative or quantitative). Also, discuss how you collected data. Did you use a specific instrument like a survey? Briefly discuss it here. If you got data from a research database, that should also be discussed in this section of the paper. Anything related to the research you conducted and how you analyzed it should be discussed here. Don’t forget to tie your research into the specific problem you identified and compare your research to any related research you discovered in your literature review.

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Remember, if you are doing a qualitative paper, this would discuss how you structured your literature review and how the research fits into the support of your thesis. However, if you are writing a quantitative paper, this is, by far, the most important section of your report. You should describe the materials used in the study, how the materials were prepared, the research protocol you used, how measurements were made, and calculations performed, and state which statistical tests were done on to analyze the data (Kallet, 2004). Findings and Recommendations This is where you will discuss the results of your research and how they will help the reader in understanding the policy topic and approaching it in the future. You will discuss what you discovered about the research topic including any quantitative results and how they relate to the problem. Most important to this section and to the success of the paper itself is that you answer the research question you posed in the introduction. What did your research find? How does your research support your thesis statement and what can we learn from the results? What limitations did you encounter? (Tullu & Karande, 2017) You will then recommend a solution to the problem in this section. Based on your research, what recommendations do you make for addressing the problem? How can those recommendations be implemented? Does a law need to be changed? Should policies be enacted? Be specific in what you believe should be done as well as how your solution should be implemented.

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8 Implications and Conclusion

This section should include a consideration of implications your recommended solution may have on lawmakers and politicians. Consider both intended and unintended consequences. How can the benefits of your solution be optimized while accounting for possible unintended consequences? Every policy recommendation will have implications as well as unintended consequences, so make sure you discuss each of these. Conclusion/Summary The last paragraph or two of your paper should be a conclusion or summary which again mentions the problem, your recommended solutions and implications for lawmakers as well as recommendations for further research or policy solutions that may be needed in the future. As this paper concludes, I want you to know that in grading your paper, I will be as understanding and compassionate as possible. I realize that many of you may not have done a paper of this extent and others of you may find this paper routine. I want to make sure that you understand how to follow a format and how to use the APA standard for scholarly research for future papers as you go through your academic and professional career. I wish you luck and hope that by undertaking this assignment that you learn something about research and writing as well as how the research and policy process is used in practice.

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9 References

Adams, J., Raeside, R., & Khan, H. T. A. (2014). Research methods for business and social science students. New Delhi: Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the american psychological association (Sixth Edition ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Ashford University. (2017). Transitional phrases. Retrieved from https://writingcenter.ashford.edu/transitional-phrases.

Badke, W., [email protected]. (2017). The literature review in a digital age. Online Searcher, 41(3), 57-59.

Kallet, R. H. (2004). How to write the methods section of a research paper. Respiratory Care, 49(10), 1229.

Oxford Editing. (2018). Four elements of a good paragraph. Retrieved from https://oxfordediting.com/four-elements-good-paragraph-tteb/

Purdue University. (2019). Writing transitions. Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/transitions_and_transitional_devices/ index.html

Simon, B. L., & Green, W. (2012). The columbia guide to social work writing. New York: Columbia University Press.

SAMPLE POLICY PAPER Taylor, G. (2009). A student's writing guide : How to plan and write successful essays. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from

Tullu, M. S., & Karande, S. (2017). Writing a model research paper: A roadmap. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 63(3), 143-146. doi:10.4103/jpgm.JPGM_325_17

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